Rutabaga And Carrot Soup

Rutabagas and carrots make a comforting, slightly sweet soup. The combination of deep orange carrots and pale yellow rutabaga flesh, produces an amber colored soup, just perfect for fall.

And so, to kick off my soup making recipes for this autumn season, I thought it might be a good idea to start with a simple, easy-to-make soup, using the rutabaga, a vegetable I believe is not fully appreciated in America.

Firstly, let’s name this soup correctly……

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Is it rutabaga and carrot soup?

Swede and carrot?

Turnip and carrot? or….

Neeps and carrot soup?

Well, the answer depends on where you live, in the world, and since most of my readers are living in America, I’m naming it “rutabaga and carrot” soup.

“Rutabaga” is the common American and Canadian term for this yellow root we plan to turn into soup. The name comes from the Swedish word Rotabagge, which apparently means “root bag”. This vegetable has also been called “yellow turnip” on the western shores of the Atlantic.

In other parts of the English speaking world, “swede” is the preferred term, because it is in fact a Swedish turnip. The name swede, for short, was adopted in England, where a true turnip has whiter flesh, and is about the size of a tennis ball. But for some strange reason the English swede and the American rutabaga is always referred to as a turnip in Ireland.

Now to confuse matters further, said vegetable is sometimes referred to as “neeps” in Scotland. Like the Irish, Scottish people call the swede a turnip, and neeps is a derivation of the term “new turnips”. So when you’re throwing together some “neeps and haggis” reach for a rutabaga, not those wee things English people and Americans call turnips.

A Little Irish Turnip History:

The turnip features prominently in the annals of Irish history during the time of the Great Hunger (1845-1850).

“They were to the starving ones supposed to be a “God-send,”

and were eaten with great avidity, both cooked and raw.”

from Annals Of The Famine In Ireland – Chapter VI (2)

1851 by Asenath Nicholson

Fire was a scarce commodity for many of the poor during these hungry years, since they were too weak to cut and harvest turf. Therefore, they cooked only the turnip greens, while the tuber was eaten raw.

But turnips were not as nutritious as the potato, and had to be eaten in great bulk to sustain life. However, those who were sick and dying were offered turnips to eat ……

…….”not because of its nutrition, but because of the absence of it,

not having sufficient to injure the weakest body.”

from Annals Of The Famine In Ireland – Chapter VI (2)

1851 by Asenath Nicholson

During the famine years, growing turnips was advocated as an alternative to potatoes, and ever since the lowly vegetable has been cultivated extensively in Ireland.

Turnips – The Original Jack-O-Lanterns

Originally Jack-O-Lanterns were created in Ireland and Scotland by chiseling out a turnip or rutabaga, and placing hot embers or coals inside. The light represented the souls of the dead, and was used to ward off “Stingy Jack,” a notorious fellow who made a deal with the devil.

When the Irish came across the waters to the United States they started to make Jack O’Lanterns at Halloween, replacing the Irish turnip with the more plentiful American pumpkin. Artistically inclined carvers started to create faces on larger pumpkins, which were far easier to pulp than the old rock-hard turnips of their homeland.

And finally, after all that rambling, here’s my soup recipe ….

Ingredients for Rutabaga and Carrot Soup:

2 tablespoons of butter

1 medium rutabaga diced

2 large carrots sliced

1 onion, chopped

6 cups of chicken stock

black pepper

salt to season

1/4 cup of fresh whipping cream (optional)

Peeling and chopping a rutabaga is simpler than it might seem. My step-by-step rutabaga handling instructions can be found here.

Melt the butter in the bottom of a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the carrots, turnips and onion, stirring them well to completely coat them in butter.

Cover the pot and sweat the vegetables for 10 minutes to soften them. Shake the pan every 3 minutes to prevent any sticking, but resist the temptation to lift the lid. Trapping the steam in the pot is key to building up a good vegetable sweat.

Add the stock and season well with salt and pepper. I like plenty of freshly ground black pepper in this soup.

Bring the soup to boiling point, lower the heat. then cover the pot and let the soup simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are nice and tender.

Turn the heat off and let the soup cool a little before blending it.

I use my hand held blender to blitz the vegetables, but a regular stand-up blender can also be used. Complete the process in batches if using a regular blender.

And finally, add the cream. This step is optional, but I love the extra depth of flavor cream lends to this soup. You can add the cream in the pot and blitz the soup again, or do as I do, and add a spoon of cream to each bowl before serving.

Comments

I thought it was only my family that called rutabagas turnips! Turns out it’s an Irsh thing? Well that explains it. Loved them mashed with white potatoes and pan fried when leftover! I can’t wait to make this soup! Thanks for sharing!

Patricia – It sure is an Irish thing to call a rutabaga a turnip. I had never heard of a rutabaga until I came to the U.S.. I hope you like this soup. It’s simple, but if you like the flavor of turnips, this soup is a treat. Best wishes, Mairéad

Here in eastern Canada, we usually just call them turnips, although I understand that the technical name is “rutabaga” and turnips are something else. The soup turned out great. Packaged chicken broth (even the “reduced salt” type) has too much salt for my liking so I used half broth and half water and it was fine. I like the simplicity of this recipe.

Hi Neil – I’m glad you give this simple soup your seal of approval. It’s only since writing my blog that I have learned Canadians call the rutabaga a turnip, just like we do in Ireland. I like your tip of using half low-sodium broth and half water to reduce the salt content in your soup. That’s a great idea. Best wishes, and thanks for stopping by to check out my recipes. Mairéad

I love all your recipes and this soup one is great. Our favorite food in Ireland was soup and bread, always homemade and always went together. We wish it was this way here in the states. I think Americans can learn a lot from the Irish about freshness and quality of food. Brighid O’Sullivan http://celticthoughts.com/

Brighid – Soup and brown bread make a perfect lunch, even during the summer months in the Emerald Isle. Irish Summer temperatures are seldom too high for a nice bowl of warming soup. I agree with you whole heartedly about the quality and freshness of Irish food – flavors are so much more natural and intense when food is not overly processed. Thanks for stopping by, Mairead

I first ran across the word “swede” in Hardy’s Tess of the d’ubervilles. Tess labored in the fields one winter “chopping swedes.” “Turnips,” I thought at the time until I later learned what she in fact was chopping were rutabagas.

Your soup recipe, (a winter’s deiight, I’m sure) reminded me of something I read in a seed catalogue a couple years back. The little aside mentioned that rutabagas mixed into mashed potatoes was a favorite dish of their staff. With that usage in mind I planted rutabagas in the garden that season, but alas, root maggots riddled them just as they do carrots and turnips in our garden (only beets are immune to those pesky tunnelers). Now my rutabagas come from the store (we simmer them with carrots, red potatoes, and cabbage along with our St. Patrick’s Day corned beef).

Jack o’ lanterns and turnips…interesting, indeed. Perhaps one could program those root weevils to carve a couple of turnips? I do know that their voracious burrowing produces a truly hideous result. I’ll add your recipe to my Saturday Soup repertoire. Thanks for sharing. TMJ

T.M. – I remember reading Tess as a teenager, and being unsure of what a swede was, just like you. I had to look the term up in the dictionary to learn it referred to an Irish turnip. It sounds like root maggots are very destructive in your area. I love your idea of patterned maggot gnawing of rutabagas for Halloween Jack O’Lanterns. If only they could oblige. All the best, Mairead

Hello! Found your website while searching for Irish soup recipes. We just returned from a beautiful stay in Howth, and loved the wonderful fresh flavors in the hearty vegetable soups and chowders we had. One had a great name, called Autumn Storm Soup. Looking forward to more of your soup recipes. Also, any secret method to getting perfect Mash? My kids ate platefuls. Thanks! Michelle

Michelle – Autumn storm soup – what a fantastic name for a soup! I’m so glad to hear you had a lovely time in Howth. I grew up very close to Howth and spent lots of time there as a child. Do check back, since I’ll be adding more soup recipes in the coming weeks. Irish mash tastes a little different to American mashed potatoes. In Ireland a lot less butter and milk are added to mashed potatoes forming a firmer mash. I find American mash a little sloppy for my Irish taste buds. American russet potatoes are the closest to Irish rooster potatoes, so I choose russets for making mash. Hope this helps. All the best, Mairéad

Michelle – I always boil potatoes for mash. If you bake them peeled, they’ll go crispy on the outside, and that doesn’t work well for mash. If you use baked potatoes with the skins on, you lose a lot of the flesh when you try to scoop it out of the skin. I typically peel the potatoes and boil them in lightly salted water. Strain them well when cooked, and let them stand for a few minutes before mashing them. They will lose more liquid through steam as they stand. Hope this helps, Mairéad

Call it the “luck of the Irish” that I came across your blog and recipe for Rutabaga & Carrot soup! Thank you so much for the interesting history and background information. It makes me appreciate the rutabaga much more! I am making the soup as I type, and look forward to its wholesomeness.

Yes Elizabeth. The serving size is only one cup, which is not a lot of soup if you are serving it as the main part of a meal. As a starter one cup is plenty. If serving larger portions it’s best to consider this recipe adequate for 5 to 6 people. All the best, Mairéad

Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! I love it and so does my 5 year old which is a big plus. Maybe it has a bit to do with my Irish roots. I think I had only ever ate rutabaga as a side mashed with salt and butter before this, also used to call it turnip unknowingly. This is my second time making it.

Hi Melanie – I’m delighted to learn that you little one loves this soup – it sure is a great way to add veggies to a child’s diet. So interesting to learn that you too called a rutabaga by the preferred Irish term of turnip. Thanks so much for stopping by to give this soup your two thumbs up. All the best, Mairéad

I came across this recipe,thank goodness looking for a great turnip(as I call it in Canada since a kid)I introduced my 6year old granddaughter to it as they came for Sunday dinner.she was hesitant at first,but a spoonful was all it took,once I mashed it with butter and brown sugar..she’s now 10 and insists I make it for all family dinners..she takes home any leftovers,which I make sure there is..I’m making this soup tomorrow and cant wait to try it out on my granddaughter.Thanks for a great recipe..Gramps

Great Soup, we had it last night and the kids actually loved it which was nice to see. My wife could hardly believe there wasn’t a bunch of cream in it(I didn’t use the cream at the end). One thing I did that I think added to the soup was 3 cloves of minced garlic and an equal amount of ginger added into the vegetables right after the sweat for 2-3 minutes before the broth was added. Good recipe!